Cash, credit cards, debit cards, other electronic access vehicles, and personal checks are all instruments which consumers utilize to make expenditures for food, entertainment, travel, subscriptions, gas, utilities, etc. Most of these payment instruments, including personal checks, provide consumers with the convenience and security of not having to carry large sums of cash in order to make expenditures. Unfortunately, the inventors have perceived that paper checks and paper check processing suffer from several drawbacks. For example, the inventors have perceived that traditional check processing systems are unable to accurately and efficiently allow users to categorize and monitor their expenditures. As a result, consumers who find themselves low on funds are often unable to explain where/how all of their money is spent. As known to those in the field, the processing of paper checks is also burdensome for financial institutions and payees as compared to debit card and other electronic transactions. The inventors have perceived that paper check use and processing will continue to be a problem until paper checks can be reduced or eliminated by discouraging paper check use.
Thus, the inventors have perceived a need for a customizable and intelligent processing system in which consumer transactions are automatically categorized based on a payee or payor associated with the transaction. The inventors have also perceived a need for a processing system in which consumer initiated changes to the automatic categorization of expenditures can be globally applied to all consumers such that categorization efficiency and accuracy are maximized. The inventors have also perceived a need for a processing system which is configured to learn individual consumer handwriting such that categorization accuracy is maximized. The inventors have further perceived a need for a processing system which may provide users with an incentive to discontinue the use of paper checks.